'McMafia' Episode 8 Review: 4 Things We Loved About The Final (And 4 Things We Didn't)

After eight thrilling - but equally exhausting - weeks, ‘McMafia’ reached its climax on Sunday (11 February) night, as Alex and Vadim had one last showdown, which proved to be fatal for one of them.

There was a good amount of closure for those who’d stuck with the BBC mafia drama (even though it often felt like it would have been easier to just give up at some points), delivering what was, in the most part, a satisfying ending.

However, that isn’t to say it was perfect, so with that in mind, we picked out four things we loved and four things we weren’t so crazy about in the final episode...

LIKED: Lydmilla and Josef’s relationship

We’ve been shipping this couple for weeks now, so we were overjoyed when they finally got together after Lydmilla was granted her freedom (thanks, Alex).

As for the scene with the cushion - our heart is officially melted.

DISLIKED: Rebecca not getting a happy ending

Not everyone was as lucky as Lydmilla when it came to matters of the heart, and the closing moments of the show saw Rebecca get rejected after finally deciding to forgive Alex.

While we were very much here for them not getting back together, it would have been nice for her to either cop off with the mysterious Antonio, or find a decent fella to make up for all the crap Alex put her through.

LIKED: Vadim finally getting what he deserved

It was a long time coming, but Vadim was finally avenged for all his crimes when Alex shot him dead. However, that isn’t to say their ‘showdown’ was exactly what we were hoping for...

DISLIKED: Alex and Vadim’s underwhelming showdown

After a high energy first 45 minutes, the pace slowed down as Alex and Vadim came face-to-face for the final time. It saw Alex kill him like he was putting a pathetic dog out of its misery, and while we get what producers were trying to do, we were expecting a more spectacular exit for a character that had been so fearful and dangerous during the rest of the series.

LIKED: Ilya betraying Vadim

There was a surprise in store when it was revealed Ilya had never received a cut for all the work he’d done for Vadim, and had stayed loyal to him because he was a friend, rather than because he was earning money from him.

After pressure from the FSB, Ilya finally gave Vadim up to Alex in a bid to protect his own family from his boss’s threats against them. Talk about a shock twist.

DISLIKED: Semiyon’s absence

Having been a huge part of the series, it was confusing why Semiyon was completely left out of the episode.

While his story pretty much wrapped up last week when he sold Alex down the river with Vadim, it would have been interesting to see how Alex would have handled the betrayal if he’d found out about it.

LIKED: Alex getting one over on Antonio

Yes, we know we’ve supported the idea of Antonio getting with Rebecca, but there was something very satisfying about the smug look on his face being wiped clean when Alex set out the new terms of their deal.

We’re calling that payment for keeping us guessing about his real identity for so long.

DISLIKED: Alex’s inability to run fast

The subway chase scenes were some of the most tense in the episode, but did someone forget to tell James Norton he needed to properly run as Alex tried to escape Vadim and his men? It seemed to be more of an amble through the tunnels, rather than a race for his life.

LIKED: Potential for a series two

While most strands of the story wrapped up very nicely (take note, ‘Hard Sun’ writers), the closing moments gave hope of a second series that could follow Alex’s new life as a criminal mastermind.

DISKLIKED: Alex turning into a bad guy

We’d spent the entire series hoping Alex was a good man who was just being pushed to do bad things as a result of circumstances he’d found himself in. But after killing Vadim, his final words about Alex having to turn his back on his old life seemed to have come true. And as Rebecca commented earlier in the episode, we felt like we didn’t know who Alex was anymore.